


Episode Jackal

by SunsetPeril



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: Episode Shadow, F/M, Gen, Infinite isn't as much of a jerk as he seems, Jackal Squad - Freeform, Loss, Loss of Identity, Pre-Episode Shadow, Pre-Sonic Forces
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2019-10-19 22:59:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17610659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunsetPeril/pseuds/SunsetPeril
Summary: "I should’ve left when I had the chance, maybe I could have prevented this fate.Maybe I could have saved myself."Everyone knows about Infinite, the masked murderer for the Eggman Empire, but no one knows the Infinite behind the mask, the one who tragically lost his fiancee, his teammates, his purpose; everything that he ever cared about. Even more so, all his loss was committed by someone who is on the side that everyone believes are the saviors of the world. Everything he gained was lost in an instant, everyone he loved then thrown to the fire. This is the true story of the deaths of the Jackal Squad Mercenaries.(The Archive Warning does not apply until much later in the story)





	1. Welcome to My World

They see me as a  **monster**. A monster worthy of nothing but  **death**.  

Ok, I can see why they might think that. 

I have waged war against this world, but I have lost one too.

When people look at me, they see this metal face, a solitary yellow eye embedded in red, and they see only the horrors against them;

 **Never**  the horrors against  **me**.

They think they've seen the worst that war has to offer, but they themselves are not truly pure.

I have lost everyone I loved to them, my heart  **stabbed**  and  **cemented**  with the empty, soulless eyes of my  **everything** , my  **everyone** , yet they, and you if you feel yourselves cursed to have met me, you all think so highly of your organizations, your petty struggle for  **light**  in this bloody apocalypse, that you are  **ignorant**  to the  **blood**  you have  **stained**  my fur with, you and they have numbed me with your own hate, and by destruction of the world we both call home, I have turned back to you with a weapon even your  **mind**  cannot escape.

 I hurt others to end my pain....... the pain cause by  **YOU** , in your own disbelief, your mind is too closed to see the  **LIVING**   **CREATURE**  under this mask that has  **FEELINGS**  that you experience too, I am like you, yet you seek to destroy me anyway, and I can see why. 

The ones who have met me have  **never**  thought 

 _'Hey, I want that guy as my friend'_   But instead, when looking at the numbers from this war, have thought endlessly,

_'Who can I get to kill this guy?'_

What numbers? The number of people I've  **killed**. I have turned the world into an  **apocalypse**. A deadly place of  **no return**. I fight for an empire that I have no say in, no control over, and the truth is that I, the sadistic warlord, the killer of millions,  **I** am scarred. 

Too scarred to leave this burning cataclysm.

 I should've left when I had the chance, maybe I could have prevented this fate, this time of reckoning.

Maybe I could have saved  **myself**. 

As I look back, I see that the one I serve  **ruined**  me;  **destroyed**  my life, yet I serve and kill with no regret, and no second thoughts. I am nothing more that the robots that I command, the robots that have no understanding of life.

And they are willing to take lives without a thought. 

No one knows the past truth, just the present horror. 

Who am I?

Though you might not understand, though you may  **never**  understand,

 

**I am Infinite.**   
  



	2. The Squad I Call Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In each of these chapters, it will say at the beginning how long until Episode Shadow and Sonic Forces happens, it will also state Infinite's age

**About a 2 and a half years before the events of Sonic Forces, about 2 years before Episode Shadow**

**Infinite- Age 26**

My name is Infinite, but I am known to all thieves and law-breakers as The Ultimate Mercenary. I lead a criminal squad called the Jackal Squad, my image to all is fearsome, I can kill in an instant with my sword; this is my life. It has to be. I would not be alive right now if it wasn't. The image of a mercenary is tough and cruel, you always have to be open to do someone's dirty work, to steal, or to kill. 

 

Especially when you're the Ultimate Mercenary. If you don't do the work, you're not a mercenary, and can't survive in this barren landscape we call home. It's part desert, and part canyon, the perfect home for us 'Dirty Rotten Thieves'. You are abandoned young, an unofficial law, and forced to keep yourself alive from that moment on, only the best survive, only the strong belong.

"Hey! Captain!" 

I turn my head to see one of my squadmates, Hunter the Jackal. 

"Heads up!" Hunter then threw his sword at my head, which I caught without flaw.

"You can't kill the ultimate mercenary, Hunter, he kills  **you**." I threw his sword back, through I threw it at his chest. Hunter jumped and flipped to catch the blade.

"Careful, you might accidentally hit me."

"Then don't throw it at me." I retaliated. 

Hunter just shrugged, spinning the gleaming blade around. 

Another of my squadmates, Remy the Jackal, crept up behind Hunter, trying to catch him off guard, but Hunter quickly spun around and met Remy's twisted distorted blade with his own.  

"Hah!" Hunter then quickly hit Remy on the head with the barrel of his silver shotgun, causing him to fall on the ground.

" **Hunter**." I snarled sternly. "That's  **enough**." 

Hunter turned and looked at me, Remy rubbed his head where he had been hit.

"What do you  **mean**  'That's enough'?" Hunter replied to me in an offended tone.

"Save your weapons for our enemies." 

Hunter chuckled, somewhat playfully. "Or  **what**?"

"Or face me." Amara jumped up and punched Hunter in the chin, she caught his gun as he fell.

" **Blades and axes** , Amara, I was just  **playing**." 

Amara smirked. "You aren't just making an excuse because you just got punched by a  **girl** , right?"

"Amara!" 

I found a small snicker leave my mouth, and I quickly tensed up to counteract it. 

Amara sauntered over to me, the smirk still present on her face, and she looped her sturdy arms around my neck, pulling herself close to me. 

I suddenly felt dizzy. I always felt this way when I was close to Amara. 

Hunter gave me a part-annoyed and part-teasing look, one that I had learned to read quite easily. It said:

'Wow, you call yourself the "Ultimate Mercenary" but you let her treat you like a common guy, just  **wow**  Infinite.'  

I didn't respond, I just kept diving deeper into Amara's eyes.

Hunter rolled his eyes at us and pushed his hair, a deep, glossy grey, out of his face before standing up. He would rather shoot targets than watch my affair with Amara. 

Amara took a few steps, closing our gap all while staring into my different colored eyes, one blue and one yellow. She pressed her lips to mine, cutting off my breath, and everything faded away in an instant. 

All I could focus on was her, so worthy of authority and queenship, always so strong and independent proving a girl that had been abandoned at age three could change the world too. 

After we broke our kiss I felt so dizzy as if I might pass out, but I didn't care. Amara brought me close to her, keeping me from falling. Hunter and Remy snickered at my reaction, but I had always felt like this around Amara. I brought her close to me so her silver hair and mine collide and tangle as I looked deep into her golden eyes.......

 

Every king needs his queen, right?

 


	3. Young, But Not Yet Infinite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The newly formed Jackal Squad play-fights with each other, and a six year old Infinite attempts to duel with Remy Jackal, but he's not the strongest member of the new squad, and definitely not ultimate mercenary material.... yet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The grammar in this chapter is not SUPPOSED to be good, this chapter is from 6 year old Infinite's perspective.

**About 22 years before Episode Shadow, 22 and a half years before Sonic Forces**  
**Infinite- Age 6**

 

Not a lot of kids my age are already thinking about death.

But I am.

It's been about 2 years since Mommy and Daddy threw me outta their den, abandoning me. Ever since then, death's been on my fluffy tail. I has a squad now, so I'm  **probably**  gonna survive... hopefullys. 

 

" **RAWR**!"

 I suddenly went rolling as a mysterious form jumped on me. The form brought its face close to mine: Amara the Jackal, one of the members of my new squad, a whole year younger than me, but still very strong. 

"Ha! Pinned Ya!" 

I yipped in annoyance. "Mara!!!" 

She giggled and playfully slapped me in the face before jumping off to do the exact same thing with Hunter, who was about my age. The two snarled playfully and hit each other with their paws, not their claws like the grown-ups did. They bit each others ears and tumbled, each struggling to stay on top of the other.

 Trying to increase my strength, I decided to challenge Remy, another young jackal from my squad, a whole year older than me, to a duel. I hit him first to challenge him and he stood next to me. I realized why he was in my squad. 

He was a  **big**  jackal.

 Thankfully, we were young, and he had no desire to beat me up. When I realized he wasn't going to, I shoved him over and bit his ear, he rolled over on top of me. I grunted and squealed, trying to regain the ability to breathe as he rolled off of me; knowing he had won the duel. I stood up and brushed myself off. I snarled at Remy, he quickly looked at me, causing me to flinch, and he smirked. "Hmph." I grumbled, annoyed at my actions.

 "Did I beat you up too hard?" Remy replied, following me, his feet padding next to my stomping feet.

"No." Remy continued following me with enthusiasm that I had lost when my parents abandoned me. 

"Then what wrong?"

 "I'm supposed to be the leader of this squad, but I'm not any stronger than any of you guys!" I nearly yelled at him, fighting back tears, tears of  **weakness**. 

"Aww, you'll get stronger." He consoled, pretending to be swiping his claws at something in front of him. As I walked back to my squad with Remy, I looked at how far I had come, I had survived this long and so had the rest of the squad, and now that we were a squad, are chances of survival were a lot greater.....

 


	4. Abandoned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, this chapter is from a very young child's perspective, do not be super grammar critical

**Chapter 3- About 24 years before Episode Shadow, 24 and a half years before Sonic Forces**

**Infinite- Age 4**

I always knew that Mommy and Daddy were mean, and I always knew that my future had been picked out when my very, very first birthday happened. But I never knews exactlys what that future was.......

 not until the day when I was forced to be me.

I remember crouching near a blanket, it was this blue that was darker than the sky, but it was so nice and comfys. I had a supers goofy smile on my face as I looked at the blanket and let out a snarl that the grownups would find pitiful, since I wasn't a true...... mercen-something. 

I don't know hows to say it. I held my fluffy tail high in the air, shaking my little rump. This 'stalking' thing was  **FUN**!

 I jumped towards the blanket, but something grabbed my scruff. I squealed as the something pulled me back and I turned my head the best I could. Mommy. The big girl jackal held me supers tight on my throat, her eyes were blue like one of mine, but the blue hads this deep, scary red all in it, like all the insides of one of her targets had gone in her eyes, and never came backs out.

" **Infinite**." She helds me tighter, I squeaked and squirmed my little legs, she held my little paws tightly.

She hurt my little tail a bits.

She carried me out near this BIIIIIG circle thing, she and Daddy walked to it and disappears sometimes. 

Daddy looked at me and showed his supers sharp teeths. 

I wanted to crys. Did I make him mad? I pulled my arms and my upper paws closer to me, the black in my different colored eyes shrank as Daddy got closer to me.

I was  **scareds**. 

He grabbed the small circle on the big circle and made part of the big circle come inside the house, just like Mommy did before she disappeared through the circle. 

Mommy held me higher, then pulled me back a bits. 

Thens, I remember hitting this yellowish brown surface that seemed to want to eat me. It went up all around me in the exact pattern that I landed.

Maybe I hurts it. 

Wait. 

What was that noise? 

It was Mommy, standing at the big circle thing, where I had been not that long ago!

"AND IF YOU  **EVER**  COME BACK, INFINITE," She yelled at me, super louds. 

"I'LL  **MURDER**  YOU!!!!!" The circle left the house with a loud bang. I looked at the house, my ears fell on top of my face, and I began to shake.

"mommy......" The fur on my face became wet, even though there was no water anywhere that I could sees.

A sharp, loud noise suddenly came from me, even though I didn't mean to, and more water flowed onto my fluffy face. I curled up, trying to hide behind my tail, as I felt..........  **lost**............. 

I couldn't go back to Mommy, I knew that it would be bad.

I shook inside my tail, until I saw a huge black thing come on top of me. I looked behinds me, and saw another big jackal, it looked a lot like Daddy, except that it wasn't.

The jackal started to laugh at me.

"Hey look!" He screamed with laughter, to no one at all. "A baby jackal!" He looked at me, with a mean face that also had some of his laughing mixed it; kinda like Mommy's eyes.

"What are you?!  **SCARED**?!"

His laughing became louder, as he brought his large paw up to his face, revealing some sort of marks across his neck and his face, one of his eyes was unnaturally white, the other a fierce and angry red. His hair was silver, like mine, like Mommy's, like Daddy's, but was smeared with a brownish-red.

The red in his hair had not been there when he younger.

"Oh, blades and axes! You  **are**  scared! That's the funniest thing I've  **ever**  seen! And those executions over in Bloodpool Canyon were  **die-laughing**  entertainment! Oh,  **man**!" 

I uncurled from behind my tail, it going up behind me like a giant hand fan. I looked up at him, trying to be fierce. 

His face twisted as he tried not to laugh again.

I clenched my fists just like he did, he thought I looked supers dumb.

"What are you gonna do to me? Make me die laughing?" He howled teasingly.

 I snarled the exact same snarl from earlier, and he could not take it anymore. 

As he was rolling over and laughing at me, I swished my tail, trying to look tough.

"Oh, I've had enough of this..." I saw his teeths suddenly, they were almost the same color as his hair, white with the exact same brownish-red that seemed to explode up his teeths.

He pulled out this sharp looking stick; it seemed to cut the light. He raised the supers pointy stick up in the air, and hit my face with it.

 

A dark red filled the ground under me, the yellow-brown substance that I was laying on was clumping up with the red stuff, sticking to my face as the red spread further out,

my little face  **hurt.**

I couldn't see out of one eye, and my other eye hurt so bad that I was afraid to open it. He stood at my feets, even though I could not see him.

"Not so tough are you now?" He smiled after beating me ups. "You're not a mercenary, you're just a  **weak**  child...." I heard a little snarl behind him, he didn't seem to think much of it. 

Not until he felt the sharp stick leave his big paw.

I heards a little grunt and I finallys opened my eyes.

 The big mean jackal was lying on his face with red stuff all arounds him.

A little jackal, one that was a little smaller than me, stood on top of the mean jackal. It looked around, kinda looked liked a little Mommy, and jumped down. It kept its eyes on the big jackal, I didn't want it to see me, so I hid back in my tail.

 A little sound came out of my mouth, one that showed how scareds I was. 

It turned its head.

 I tried even harders to hide in my tail.

 The sound came out agains, but louders this time. It looked straight at me. 

"Don't hurts me....."

 It came closers. 

"Are you threatening someones?" It snarleds at me.

"What does that means?" I askeds.

The little jackal bent down closers to me, the red stuff got on its paws. 

"Who is yous?" Its voice was high, and less scary than the big jackal. It looked at me for a littles bits.  

"Who is yous?!" It said louders. 

"I-I.... Infinite....." I stoppeds, it didn't do anything. 

"Who is yous?" I askeds 

"Amara" it said without any pause. "I is a girl" Amara replied again with her high voice. She grabbed my little paws with her little paws and dragged me out of the red stuff. 

She helped me stands up. "What are you doings heres?" She asked, curious like any kid would be.

 "Mommy and Daddy are heres."

 "Not anymore." Her high voice got colds. "You're on your owns now....... That's what my mommy tolds me....." Her fluffy tail swished, she was not happys. 

She slowly turned her eyes towards me, and she looked surprised. "You're..... You're bleedings..... A lots....." 

I looks downed to see lots of red stuff covering my little body. 

She pulleds out this green soft thing and pressed it around my little face, coverings my hurting eye and that whole side of my face. "There we goes." Amara saids to me. I touched the green thing on my face. "Don't play arounds with it, it will keep  **aaaaalllllls**  your insides inside."

 "Oks" 

She walked a bits then stopped. 

"You comings? We could be squad." 

"Squad?" I tilted my head in confusion. 

"The big mercenaries have squads, and I likes you."

 I smileds and walked towards hers. 

She held her paw up. "High five." 

I hit her paw with mine. 

"Let's go!" Amara smileds, 

and we walked away from my parents' den together....


	5. The Jackal Squad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter with a very young Infinite..... I think ya'll get the grammar drill be now

**24 years before Episode Shadow, 24 and a half years before Sonic Forces**

**Infinite- Age 4**

I and Amara had been walkings for a  **really**  long times. We hads been walking for a whole  **two hours**. 

Now, the yellow circle that sat in the white and blue above my head was gone, and a dark blues was now above me and Amara's heads. 

Amara looked at the big white circle in the dark blues and yawned. "We needs to find somewhere to sleeps." She told me, then began climbings up a  **big**  brown thing, Amara had called it a rock earlier, before looking downs at me. "Need some helps?" She asked me. 

"Maybes." I told hers back, trying to climb ups the rock. I felt her grabs my paw, and she pulleds me ups. 

"I gotcha." Amara pulleds me up to where the rock was as flat as where we weres a whole minute agos. "We stay here. We safe up here, Infinite."

 I laid down near where the wall started to go up agains, so did she, so the big mercenaries didn't thinks we were targets. We stayed that ways until the yellow circle came back, and we climbed downs. 

"We gotta find more little jackals, like us." Amara saids to me. 

"Whys?" 

"The more jackals we haves, the tougher we can bes. I'll show yous." She quickly turned and jumped on me. 

"Amara! Be carefuls with my face! It still hurts!" I squealed at her. 

"Try to get mes off!" She giggleds. I waved my paws, trying to get hers off, for a whiles, until I hit hers and she went off my little body. "You be tough, Infinite! See how awesome we can bes if we have a bunch of us?!" Amara bounced around excitedly. 

I giggleds too. "Yeah!" I posed like a big, tough jackal. "We be awesome!" We climbed all overs each other for a while, shoving each other offs, until we saws a tiny pair of eyes. 

"Who is yous?" I asked the tiny eyes, another little jackal appeared. 

"I is Hunter." The little jackal replied. 

"I is Infinite." I replieds. 

"I is Amara." Amara also told him. 

Hunter waveds a bit at us. "Do you has squad?" Hunter asked me and Amara. 

"Yes." I tolds him. 

"Can I join? I is good fighter." 

"How goods of fighter?" Amara asked. 

"How do yous want me to prove it?" 

Amara lookeds ats me. "How do we want him to prove that he's tough enough to be a part of squad?" 

"Maybe he could come along with us, like he would if we accepts him." 

Amara smileds. "I like thats! C'mon Hunter!" 

Hunter began to follows me and Amara.

~~~~

Hunter was rights. He  **was**  a good fighter. Now I hads three jackals in my squad, Me, Amara and Hunter. 

"Do we has a name for this squad?" Hunter askeds.

 I thoughts for a bits. "The Jackal Squad." I said proudlys. 

"I like thats!" Amara piped. 

Hunter jumped in a pouncing form. "Me too! Now lets figures out who's gonna be the boss!" We spent the rest of the day wrestlings and other fighting stuffs. 

By the time the big yellow circle was starting to disappears, we had decided on who was the leader. 

"You be boss, Infinite!" Amara cheered. "You super tough and strong!" Amara and Hunter were about the same in strongness, so I didn't have a back-up boss. 

Amara yawned, tired from all the fightings, and we crawled backs up onto the giant rock and fell asleep. We were three very young jackals, all tryings to survive.

 

 

If only we knew what we would become when we got older.


End file.
